In the weeks prior to each exhibition, the Education team meets regularly to develop pedagogical tools. These tools result from ongoing research and collective brainstorming — thoughts put on paper with the intention of getting to the core of the ideas and themes presented in the exhibition, and inciting visitors to go deeper in their analysis of the artworks presented.  Recently we developed a text entitled Movements, in which the artworks exhibited in Chronicles of a Disappearance are scrutinized from different vantage points: context, composition, content and considerations. Movements will be adapted for subsequent exhibitions to reflect concepts and techniques unique to them.  This text is available on our Website; the general public is invited to consult and reflect on it, as are teachers who may wish to discuss the questions with their students after a group visit.

Paulina Bereza, a student at Dawson College, wrote the following response to a question from Movements. Thanks to Paulina for sharing her thoughts with DHC/ART and the blog community!

Composition

In Margolles’ conceptual offering, movement and stillness permeate the work. The dripping of the water contrasting with the heaviness of the metal plates placed underneath it. Do you consider Margolles’ work to be primarily still or in motion? What constitutes movement for you? What signs or signals do you look for in order to determine if something is motion?

"I really appreciated Margolles’ artwork Plancha. I thought that it was one of the most touching pieces in the exhibition due to its capacity to introduce numerous meanings and connotations. At first glance, I believed that Margolles’ work was still, but the more time that I spent looking at it, the more the movements became manifested. I consider Margolles’ work to be primarily in motion.

The first component of the movement is the dripping water. It is quite obvious upon entering the room that water is dripping from the ceiling and landing on metal plates."

Plancha, Teresa Margolles (2010)

"The second aspect of movement is the chemical reaction happening through corrosion on the metal plates. These plates started off new, but there has been a progression through time. Due to the water causing decay and rust on the surface, the plates live a change in appearance. This change represents a motion in time – they change and will never be the same when perceived at different moments.

The third sign of motion is the evaporation of the water. The water falls from the ceiling, hits the plate, and then a little vapor and a hissing sound manifests a movement or transformation of the water into the air.

The main signs or signals that determine that this artwork is in motion are the physically apparent movements of the dripping water, the visual transformation of the plates through time, and the sublimation of the water from the physical state into the gas state released into the air."

Amanda Beattie
DHC/ART Education

Photo: Richard-Max Tremblay